Finding funding for tourism projects is always a challenge. One set of funds that gets overlooked for tourism is the USDA Rural Business Enterprise Grants (RBEG) for towns of fewer than 50,000 people. The Kansas Flint Hills region is working togetheron tourism training. Photo (CC) by TravelKS. RBEG funds are intended to support rural entrepreneurs […]
Archives for April 2012
Alternative business financing: community ownership
Many small businesses can’t qualify for a small business loan from a traditional local bank. A bad credit record disqualifies many. Lending standards have tightened. Some small towns are limited by local banks that don’t support small business; others don’t have locally-owned banks any more. The good news is that alternatives are available. We are […]
Have a beer and join in the Brag Basket
The Brag Basket is our tradition of sharing. The basket is always free and open all weekend, this one April 6-8, 2012. Have some good news this week? Put it in the Brag Basket. And have a beer. Beer and Bread Basket.(cc) by Master Timothy on Flickr Don’t hold back because of that word, “brag.” […]
Giving Your Small Town a Dash of Color
This downtown art project comes from Waynoka, Oklahoma, population 927. Far from a dressy, stodgy downtown, they have a casual attitude. It’s a working class town with history as a railroad community. The wooden utility poles downtown were in bad need of a new coat of that boring silver paint. What happened instead is far […]